The Rose Of Death
by TheOriginalM
Summary: A collaboration of M and OrangeGirlExplosion, about a rose....duh!
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: ME AND ORANGEGIRLEXPLOSION OWN NOTHING. Except for the idea.  
(A/N: Hello, orangegirlexplosion and I decided to collaborate and write a story. So...here it is)  
  
PART 1: BY ORANGEGIRLEXPLOSION  
4 weeks…  
  
  
  
They hadn't had a decent bounty in 4 weeks.  
  
  
  
Living off of beans and carrots was getting to all of them.  
  
  
  
Aisha flopped back on the couch and moaned. Ctarl-Ctarl were not meant to live off of beans and carrots! Especially proud Ctarl-Ctarl! She needed meat! She needed something dead and dehoofed or declawed, and smothered in BBQ sauce on her plate. And beans and carrots wasn't happenin'.  
  
  
  
She looked over to Jim on his computer typing away. 'Ole Jimmy-boy's wasting away to nothing.' She thought idly.   
  
  
  
Then she cast a glance to Suzuka. Sitting on the ground and drinking her tea as usual. She swore that woman could live off that stuff if she needed to. But not her, she needed animal protein.   
  
  
  
Melfina was cooking more beans and carrots. There were only so many ways you could cook those awful things anyway. She was sick and tired of them and she just wouldn't eat them one more day!  
  
  
  
She cast a glare over to Gene. This was his entire fault. 'Place all the bounty on one horse', he said. ' She can't miss', he said. ' I've played her a million times, she always wins', he said. Well she lost and they were flat broke.   
  
  
  
" Quit lookin' at me like I'm a side order Aisha, Mel's cooking as fast as she can." He didn't move from his reclined position on his chair.  
  
  
  
" She wouldn't have to if you didn't lose our money Flicka!!"  
  
  
  
" Hey! I told you it was a fluke!"   
  
  
  
" A fluke that left us flat broke! This is all your fault!!"   
  
  
  
Gene glared at her and threw his pillow at her. " Shut it catwoman! You take up the most money anyway."   
  
  
  
" Meow? What was that?!!" She pulled the pillow away from her face and glowered at him.  
  
  
  
" I say you take up most of the money! If you didn't have a stomach like a cast iron trash compactor and a mouth like a Hoover then we wouldn't need a lot of money!"   
  
  
  
Aisha growled and threw his pillow back at him, along with couch pillows in her fury to make him pay for that remark. When she ran out of pillows, she jumped up to the upper level, grabbed a pillow and beat Gene with it to punctuate herself." If. You. Weren't. Such. An. Idiot. We. Wouldn't. Lose. A lot. Of. Money. In. The. First place!!"   
  
  
  
" Ow ow ow ow ow ow OW!!" He tried to protect his face with his arms, but Aisha continued to pound on his face.   
  
  
  
" You. Big. Jerk!!" Now she was finished. Aisha dusted her hands off and smiled triumphantly. " You should be honored to have a Ctarl-Ctarl around. Not just because of what I am, but because of what I've done! I've saved your life and their lives at the risk of my own! You're just redheaded fool without me and you're lucky I waste my time with Terrans than with my race!!"   
  
  
  
Gene growled in irritation as she got off of him and headed towards the stairs." Well if you have such a problem with me Ctarl-Ctarl then you can just leave!! No one's asking you to stay!!"   
  
  
  
Aisha froze in her descend to the lower level and turned back to glare at him." What was that?!!"  
  
  
  
" You heard me! I want you gone!! You're the biggest mouth in this house!! You consume the most and do the least! We won't need nearly as much money with you gone!"   
  
  
  
This time Aisha growled and bared her fangs. " Why you ungrateful, low level Terran!! How dare you disparage me!! Who do you think you are?!! I've sent Ctarl-Ctarl to the hospital for less than that!!"   
  
  
  
Melfina and Jim watched from the sidelines with worried faces. Their friends were taking this fight a little too far. Aisha and Gene both had big tempers and big egos. And when you get two people in a room like that and they argue, neither one of them is gonna wanna back down. So then you have a vicious fight on your hands that just gets worse and worse until someone gets hurt.   
  
  
  
They knew that either Aisha would snap and actually attack Gene with intent to harm, or he would say something that would really hurt her. One or the other was about to happen if they didn't stop this right now.  
  
  
  
" Uh, Aisha could you help me in the kitchen?" Melfina tried to sway the attention off the fight in progress.  
  
  
  
But Gene was too pissed to pay attention and did not relent on his insulting Aisha. " Then why don't you go visit them on your own planet? I'm sure you'd be happier there than with us Terrans! You should fall right into place, what with stuffing your face and running your mouth being tradition and all!!"   
  
  
  
Aisha looked taken aback at his insult." Why you-"   
  
  
  
" I'm not finished, so have a seat catwoman!!" Gene threw a pillow at her with such force and her being surprised; it made her fall down backwards on her tail." Oof! Hey!!"  
  
  
  
" All you do is complain and belittle us all day. 'Terrans aren't this' and 'Terrans aren't that'. Well you ain't no Terran so you don't know what we are!! But know what you're gonna do, and that's beat it!!"   
  
  
  
Aisha let out a roar as she stood up and ripped the pillow apart. " Fine! I'll leave! I'd do much better on my own than with the likes of you! "   
  
  
  
She jumped over the rail of the upper level and landing kneeling on the ground. She 'hmp'ed and stalked out the door; muttering curses under her breath.   
  
  
  
" See how well you do without me!!"   
  
  
  
And with that she slammed the door.   
  
  
  
" Go on and go!! We didn't need you before and we don't need ya now!! Good ridence to CAT rubbish!!"   
  
  
  
Melfina and Jim looked between the door and Gene. Suzuka coughed a little, and then continued to drink her tea.   
  
  
  
" She's not gonna just leave like that is she? I mean, she'll be back won't she?" Jim looked a bit worried. Aisha and Gene never fought like that.  
  
  
  
" I don't know. I hope she isn't going to get hurt or anything." Melfina said in concern.  
  
  
  
Gene snorted and crossed his arms." How could she get hurt with that HARD HEAD OF HERS!!!"   
  
  
  
*******************  
  
  
  
It had been a good four hours since Aisha and Gene had their falling out. Gene had not said anything since then. He just muttered about Aisha every once and a while and made some insult about 'Ctarl-Ctarls'.   
  
  
  
The others worried. Aisha got into trouble when she was angry. She didn't think as clear and made careless mistakes. She could get into real trouble out there. She might make some mistakes and end up picking a fight with the wrong person.   
  
  
  
They hoped she would be okay.   
  
  
  
*Phone ring*   
  
  
  
Jim hit the call button." Starwind and Hawking; we can fix anything from cars to relationships?"  
  
  
  
" Am I speaking to a Mr. Starwind?" The man at the other end of the vid-phone looked like he was a doctor.   
  
  
  
" No, this is Jim Hawking. Why do you need Gene? And are you a doctor?"   
  
  
  
" Yes I am and yes I do. He is listed as the emergency person to contact in case one Aisha Clan-Clan is in an accident."   
  
  
  
Jim almost fell over when he heard that." What?!! What happened?! Where is she?!!"  
  
  
  
" Calm down Mr. Hawking. I can't explain if you get hysterical. Now Ms. Clan-Clan was picked up from the Space Port. She was a bloody mess and was semi-conscious when we found her. That in itself was strange, seeing as how she is a Ctarl-Ctarl. It is hard to break through their thick skin. But some…thing did. She has numerous abrasions and contusions. Along with some lacerations that required stitches and severe head trauma."  
  
  
  
" Oh my God."   
  
  
  
Everyone looked up at Jim's declaration. They wondered what had happened to make him so pale.  
  
  
  
" What's up Jim?"   
  
  
  
" That is not the worst of it. I'm afraid. You should come down so I can explain the effects of Battousai. Some how your Aisha has contracted it."  
  
  
  
Suzuka gasped at that. Then a look of anger came over her face. Jim hung up the phone and sat down. Gene and Melfina were clueless as to what was going on.   
  
  
  
" Jim, what's going on?"   
  
  
  
" It's Aisha. She's in the hospital. They found her a bloody mess and half-unconscious. And the doctor said she had contracted something called 'Battousai'."   
  
  
  
Gene looked shocked. Something had gotten the best of Aisha. Something had nearly killed her. She could have been bumped off and it would be all his fault for making her leave. He was responsible for her situation. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so well.  
  
  
  
Suzuka gripped her bokken hard. " Battousai. 'The Manslayer'."   
  
  
  
They all looked to her." You know what that is?"   
  
  
  
" It's a disease. A fatal disease that shuts down the body functions one by one until the victim is dead. It can only be contracted by inhaling the pollen of the Murderous Rose. But that's impossible that Aisha just has it now…The Murderous Rose hasn't been seen in centuries. My master told me about it…"   
  
  
  
All this sank in. It was just honey in the hive to Gene. More bad news. This just wasn't his day. Wait, why was he complaining? He wasn't about to die. He didn't have a fatal disease that would put him in the ground. He wasn't laid up in some hospital. Geez, he felt like a jackass.   
  
  
  
" Aisha's gonna…die?"   
  
  
  
His temper had finally gotten the best of him. He remembered what he said. He practically threw her out himself. This was his fault. One of his crewmembers was going to die because of him. Not in a fight akin to she would have liked, but by a stupid disease!!  
  
  
  
He slammed his fist on the table in frustration. He'd never been in this position before. Someone was going to die because he ran his big mouth and he went too far.   
  
  
  
Melfina put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him. But Gene just tensed under her touch. " Gene?"  
  
  
  
" This is shoddy. Aisha can't be killed by this disease. There has to be a way around this. There has to be. Nothing can kill her!!"   
  
  
  
Suzuka ceased her hard gripping on her bokken and sighed sadly. " There is a cure for it."   
  
  
  
Gene jumped up; causing Melfina to fall over. " Oh yeah!! I knew it!"   
  
  
  
" But-"  
  
  
  
" What?! Aw crap! Every time you get somewhere there's someone's big 'but' in the way! What now?"   
  
  
  
" There is only one Murderous Rose in resistance. It resides in Lost Eden."  
  
  
  
" Lost Eden?" He repeated," Whassat?"   
  
  
  
" A fantastic garden. No one knows who created it but it continues to bloom. No life is extinguished there. Only rebirth. The Murderous Rose was created from a Blue Rose by Tao magic. The Murderous Rose was used as a great weapon a long time ago. It killed every one who came in contact. Even the Tao masters themselves were not immune."  
  
  
  
Gene crossed his arms." I sense a 'however' coming on."  
  
  
  
" –However," Suzuka smirked," Someone figured out a cure for the disease the Murderous Rose created; dubbed: Battousai, the Man Slayer. The original Blue Rose was the cure. If the petals are made into a broth then consumed by the victim, every ailment would be alleviated."   
  
  
  
Jim grinned." So all we have to do is find Lost Eden. That shouldn't be too hard. I mean how many space gardens are there?"  
  
  
  
" Just one. But this one is different. It moves to a different place every year. Actually, it never stops moving. So you would only come across it by chance, or great determination."   
  
  
  
Gene smirked." Good thing I've got both."   
  
  
  
" In whose opinion outlaw?" Jim gave him a dubious look.  
  
  
  
" Nuts to you. Let's go check on Aisha!!"  
  
  
  
PART 2: BY M  
  
Ron took a long drag of a cigarette, letting the trails of the smoke creep out of the sides of his mouth.  
He looked over at his brother, who was idly holding a flower in his hands.  
"So what will we do with the flower?" Harry asked, not looking up from the flower.  
"Don't know."  
"What if those tao pirates decide to revolt against us?"   
Ron laughed.  
"We both drank from that nectar, we're invincible."  
"And the murderous rose?"  
"It's our power for the taking harry, we are truly the masters of this universe."  
"Don't be so sure!" A vicious sounding marine barked.  
Harry and Ron looked to the doorway of the room and saw what appeared to be 40 men, all with heavy artillery, poised for attack.   
"By orders of the United Planet Alliance, you are to give both roses to us and come back without protest."  
Harry smirked and stood up.  
"The UPA has been involved in this? My, my, my, they just can't seem to keep out of our business!" harry said with one hand on his hip.  
"Oh well, I guess we'll have to take care of you all by ourselves."  
Ron picked up his armor piercing p90 and pointed it at the marines.  
  
"Open Fire!" The head marine shouted.  
The entire cabin of Ron and Harry's room was lit up by shells, bullets, projectiles, and explosions.  
There was a lot of dust and smoke that seeped out of the room and into the glass hallway the marines stood in.  
The marines all looked at each other and started laughing, but they were all stopped by one marine pointing in to the room.  
"look!" He shouted, pointing at the two figures standing.  
Ron looked down.  
"That almost hurt. But now, it's my turn, bye!"   
Ron shot the glass behind the marines and then sealed the door shut, but not before one marine jumped inside.  
The glass halway shattered open, and all the marines were sucked out into space, as was the entire bridge.  
The UPA marine looked around the room, and then at Ron and Harry, keeping his assault rifle trained on both of them.  
"Well, a lone marine, what should we do with him Harry?"   
Harry smiled.  
"I can think of three things," he said, taking out a shock taser.  
The marine slowly backed towards the door.  
"We're going to have lots of fun..." Ron said.  
  
Until Next Time,   
Peace,  
~M 


	2. Chapter 15

(A/N: Well, Orange isn't really on top of things -___- so im gonna give u a short chapter to hold you all over for a bit)  
  
(disclaimer: i own nothing)  
  
Chapter 1.5   
  
By: M  
  
The scientist strode down the hallway, letting the back of his coat gently brush against the cold metal floor. He stepped up to a door, which was flanked by a marine. The marine saluted and the doors slowly opened. The scientist walked into the door, into another hallway. He again walked for what seemed to be miles until he came to another door. Two marines saluted and again opened the door for him. He walked into this doorway and came into yet another hallway. Yet, this one was different. This hallway was glass, with light shining in from all sides. The scientist looked out the side of the glass, into the cold black space. He was so caught up in the view that he didn't notice the plethora of UPA Marines surrounding him.   
  
"YOU!" The marine yelled, grabbing the scientist and throwing him on the ground, "WHERE ARE THEY?"  
  
"Who?!" Yelled out the confused scientist.  
  
"The McDougall brothers, you fucking bastard! Where the hell are they?"  
  
"I dOn't Know!" He cried out.  
  
"Come now Marines," Ron said casually, holding the burnt carcass of a UPA commander, "Don't be so rash."  
  
He threw the carcass in front of them.   
  
"You bastard, what have you done to our commander?"  
  
Harry Smirked, "We just had some fun with him, no big deal."  
  
The marines all pointed their weapons at the brothers.  
  
"Well now, i think it's time to depart, but we'll leave on this note," Ron said, snapping his fingers.  
  
The El Dorado crashed into the bridge, sending the marines flying everywhere into space. Ron and Harry laughed as they came onto the bridge of the Dorado.  
  
"I love it!" Ron shouted, holding his p90 in the air.  
  
"The power of this rose is incredible!"  
  
"Yes, indeed it is"  
  
"I wonder what else it can do?"  
  
"Hm...Well let's go try it out--"  
  
"On The XGP!"  
  
Until Next Time  
  
Peace,  
  
~M 


	3. The Second Chapter

A/N: Gomen Nasai Orange Girl.   
  
(sorry folks, i have pissed of orange girl with previously said comments.)  
  
Sorry!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: We Own Nothing. Don't sue.   
  
PART 1: BY ORANGE  
  
The entire trip to see Aisha in the hospital was a quiet one. Gene couldn't think of anything he would want to say. He just kept replaying their fight over and over again.   
  
They had both been irritable and volatile because of their food shortage. He hadn't meant all of what he said. He really didn't want her to leave. She was a great asset to have when one was bounty hunting. Her skin was as thick as her head, but he couldn't really say very much because he was the same way. But Aisha could and would fight you to the very end and never surrender even if it meant death.   
  
She didn't seem like it when you first looked, but Aisha was smart. Very smart. Once Jim couldn't figure out why his computer wouldn't turn on. He had taken it apart, put it back together, and taken it apart again. Aisha just walked by, changed out two microchips and turned it on.   
  
And now, because he had run off at the mouth too much and didn't take responsibility for what he did and instead did what he always did, he took it out on Aisha; she might not be there anymore.  
  
So now this stupid Battousai thing is going to kill her if they don't find this specific flower that grows in this specific garden that is constantly moving and hasn't been seen in God knows how long! Well, Gene was going to make sure he found said garden and flower. Come hell or high water.  
  
He made a mental note to ask Fred if he knew anything about this garden when they were finished here. He wanted to get started as soon as possible, but he wanted to see Aisha First. He would like to know what damage his words had caused.  
  
***********  
  
Aisha was a mess. Cuts and bruises, scars and burns. You name it she had it. She was dressed like a car wreck and looked like hell. Wires and tubes were hooked up to her and she couldn't even breathe on her own. She looked so fragile, so weak. It was so unlike their Aisha, they had to look twice to believe it.  
  
Melfina immediately began crying on Suzuka. The assassin comforted her silently. Jim tried not to let it show how bothered he really was by checking on the equipment that was monitoring her body.  
  
Gene just watched from the doorway in numb fascination. He had never seen Aisha look so weak. She looked like if anyone touched her, she would shatter into a million pieces.   
  
He really wanted to apologize, to say how glad he was to see her, to insult her, to yell at her for worrying him like that, to say…SOMETHING! But nothing would come out. He could only watch mutely as the others displayed their feelings.   
  
So much damage had been done. Hold on, something didn't make sense. His brows furrowed. There had to be more than the disease doing this to her. It shouldn't cause bruises and it houldn't cause severe head trauma. He knew very well Aisha was hardheaded. She could ram the XGP and leave a dent in it, if not a hole.   
  
" "Something's wrong here.""  
  
The others looked at him. Jim looked a little confused. " What are you talking about?"  
  
" I mean this disease means that Aisha will lose body functions one after another, then what does that have to do with her being trampled up. She had to have been beaten within an inch of her life to get banged up like that. It doesn't make sense. Nothing can pierce a Ctarl-Ctarl's skin. Something awful powerful got to her before the police did and it got her good."  
  
Suzuka looked at Aisha and nodded. " That's right. There's no reason she should have this much bruising and this much bleeding from Battousai. All the damage should be on the inside. There is nothing in Battousai that has to do with head trauma."  
  
Gene walked around to the side and looked at one of the cuts on Aisha's arms. There were burn marks around the edges of it, insinuating that she was burned, not cut. And the identical mark above it was that made by a sword; which would have to be wielded with great force. " This was no accident. Someone intended to hurt and wound her badly. And whoever that is, has the murderous rose or at least some of its spores."  
  
Jim looked to either of them and then to Aisha. That made a lot of sense too. An idea formed in his head and he immediately pulled out his handheld to hack into something.   
  
" Whatcha got there Jim?"  
  
" I'm going to see if I can hack into the data stream of the surveillance robots. If they saw what happened to Aisha, we'll know who did it to her."   
  
Gene 'hmm'ed in comprehension. " While you do that, I'm going to do a little snooping of my own."   
  
Melfina looked up at him when he said that." Where are you going Gene?"  
  
" To the shipping docks. Maybe there are some clues there. There have to be some marks of battle there if nothing else. Aisha isn't one to go down without a fight. She's a wildcat," He rubbed the back of his head absentmindedly in recollection of the pillow she smacked him with," and you didn't hear that from me!"   
  
PART 2: By M  
  
Harry stood absentmindedly staring at the shipping docks.   
  
"So, why exactly are we here again?" Ron asked, looking around.  
  
"Waiting for those Kai pirates to come, so we can get our shipment and money order, then dispose of them."  
  
"Oh right."  
  
There was again an akward silence.  
  
"So..." Ron said dully.  
  
"hm." Harry grunted.  
  
"What are we gonna do with this shipment?"  
  
"We're going to see if we can break this rose up so we can ingest it and become the most powerful beings in the universe!"  
  
"Uh...I thought we already were?" Ron asked.  
  
"Well, technically, but to fully undergo the transformation, a portion of the flower must be ingested or injected into your body."  
  
"But if we eat it all, how will we poison others?"  
  
The kai pirates ship touched down.  
  
Harry smirked.  
  
"I guess we'll have to find out."  
  
Bodies slumped to the ground of the hallways of the ship as Harry and Ron slowly walked their way through the ranks of people on board.  
  
"That's funny," said Ron, "I don't feel any different from before we ate that rose."  
  
"Hm. Maybe we need to kill someone else."   
  
"Not a bad idea, look who it is," Ron said, pointing to a certain red-headed outlaw inspecting a dead body.  
  
Harry and Ron quickly ran out of the ship and towards Gene. By the time he saw them it was too late, they were already quickly standing in front of him and behind him, taking off his routes of escape.  
  
"Well Gene, it appears you're in a jam." Harry said cooly, taking his p90 out and leveling it at Gene's head.  
  
"It's time to end your life Gene. We are kind fellows," Ron said, also leveling his M16 at Gene's torso, "We'll end it quickly."  
  
Gene raised his arms quickly, smirked, and then the shots started firing.  
  
(A/N: Gomen...this has been my fault for the long delay...)  
  
(Until Next Time,  
  
(Peace,  
  
~M 


End file.
